Prescription for speed: How pharmacies aim to revolutionize drug delivery

The rapid transformation of Indian business that swept grocery to utilities and posed a tough challenge to retail chains and kirana stores within three years has now reached a new frontier: Pharmaceutical delivery .

Tata 1mg, PharmEasy, and Apollo 24/7 are experimenting with super-fast drug delivery services, according to key executives at these firms. By using partnerships and advanced tools, these companies aim to deliver orders as quickly as groceries or appliances—which could revolutionize access to health.

Tata Digital with 1mg is partnering with BigBasket to pilot fast delivery of medicines in selected cities in December. “We will pilot in a few cities in late December-early January and roll out to all cities by the end of January,” Hari Menon, co-founder and CEO of BigBasket, told Mint in an email reply.

Tata 1mg currently offers prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as doctor consultations and laboratory tests. A Tata 1mg executive said that the platform currently delivers medicines in 30-60 minutes from its stores in Gurugram. In addition, rapid laboratory tests for influenza panels are available in selected cities.

“For the flu panels, customers need to know quickly where the treatment is going, so fast services help them. Therefore, we see a great activity of such services,” said the manager.

Apollo 24/7, too, has introduced an express delivery service to major markets, including Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.

“We have introduced a new initiative to deliver medicines in 19 minutes across five cities,” Madhivanan Balakrishnan, CEO of Apollo HealthCo, which runs the Apollo 24/7 app, told Mint in a written reply. seeing a significant increase in demand in the areas where the pilot started in June this year, Balakrishnan said.

Swiggy is piloting a partnership with PharmEasy to deliver medicines in less than 10 minutes in Bengaluru, using Instamart’s dark shops.

However, it is not clear whether Tata 1mg’s partnership with BigBasket will use 1mg’s infrastructure or rely on BigBasket’s dark stores. The CEO indicated that they plan to leverage the combined strengths of both companies—1mg’s expertise in pharmaceutical delivery and BigBasket’s fast-paced business.

Obstacles in the way

But for the rapid supply of medicines to fully take off, important issues regarding inventory management, storage, and regulatory requirements need careful attention. Companies will need to address challenges such as ensuring that medicines are stored under optimal conditions and that rapid delivery times do not compromise safety standards as they increase.

These performance constraints are very important as regulators and consumers alike will expect safety not to be sacrificed for speed.

Balakrishnan said: “Addressing these challenges requires advanced technology and robust operational processes.” For example, Apollo 24 / 7 is focused on real-time monitoring of stock and proper alignment of routes to support fast delivery times.

The All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has raised concerns about the nature of the fast delivery, especially regarding the verification of the prescription, warning of possible risks if security measures are exceeded. In a letter to the Drug Directorate General of India (DCGI), the AIOCD cited the recent Swiggy-PharmEasy partnership as an example of these risks.

The regulatory framework for e-pharmacies is still in the works, although a June ruling from the Madras High Court in favor of online platforms could pave the way for more formal guidelines.

The need for speed

Rapid delivery platforms have overtaken the broader market in terms of growth, which can represent time-sensitive items such as pharmaceuticals.

“If you take that as a forecast, for pharma, which can be time-consuming – especially over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and pediatric applications – there will be very good demand,” Sujay Shetty, PwC consulting leader Global Health Industries. and Indian Health Industries leader, PwC India, told Mint.

Shetty noted that collaboration between express delivery platforms and e-pharmacies can help overcome regulatory and logistics hurdles. While pharmacies have inventory and regulatory approvals, fast delivery times require advanced demand forecasting and planning—which is already being developed in fast-paced business.

This quick service process turns into financial growth.

Tata 1mg’s operating income rose 21% to ₹1,968 crore in FY24, driven by online pharmaceutical sales, while net loss narrowed to ₹313 crore in FY24.

Apollo HealthCo’s revenue grew 17% year-on-year in Q2FY25, partly driven by Apollo 24/7. The platform’s gross merchandise value (GMV) rose by 2% year-on-year to ₹757 billion. The firm said it was able to lower its Ebitda loss from ₹169 million to ₹100 crore in online business in the September quarter.

The online pharmacy industry in India is still nascent, with pharmacies accounting for only 2-3% of the country’s total pharmacy sales by 2023, according to a report by the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).

However, the e-pharmacy market is expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 44%, reaching $4.5 billion by 2025. This potential has fueled investor interest: in April, private equity firm Advent International invested. ₹2,475 crore in Apollo HealthCo, which includes Apollo 24/7 and its pharmaceutical distribution arm.

Traditional pharmacies

Like local kiranas, or neighborhood shops, traditional pharmacies can also feel the impact of brisk business as they compete with the speed and convenience of online delivery.

According to a recent report, more than 200,000 small retailers have closed down during the e-commerce boom, according to the All-India Consumer Products Distributors Federation. While pharmacies currently account for only a fraction of pharmacy sales, that share is expected to grow rapidly as the sector attracts increasing investment.

More here | Disappointment at kiranas as brisk business roars ahead

But not everyone is ready to accept these changes. Many consumers are choosing neighborhood pharmacies for the speed and personal connection they provide.

Sameera Kamulkar, 52, who lives in Bengaluru, orders her father’s medicine in Mumbai through the Tata 1mg app but says, ‘As for us, I usually get it from my chemist after’ a 15-20 minutes… I just whatsapp him. that he might consider switching to online platforms if they start offering faster delivery.

Faster trading platforms are expanding rapidly to include more offerings and add higher order values ​​(AOVs) as demand rises. According to an October report by financial services firm Nomura, gross order value (GOV) in the fast-moving business space is estimated to grow by 120% year-on-year in FY26. Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said in March that their fast-growing business, Blinkit, is expected to outpace their food delivery operations by 2025.

For now, brick and mortar pharmacies are still going strong. “Brick and mortar pharmacies are still very much there… there will be some impact, but it’s too soon to tell,” Shetty noted, highlighting the uncertain impact of these changes on traditional businesses. medicines.

Increasing health services

It’s not just pharmacies that are embracing express delivery; urgent health services may also see an uptick in the near future.

Also read | The rapid rise of business has left us with many questions

Hyderabad-based Red.Health, India’s leading ambulance service provider, is expanding into emergency health services. Red.Health already provides ambulances in less than 15 minutes across 20 cities, and is now piloting an emergency diagnosis service within eight minutes in Hyderabad, which scheduled to begin in mid-November.

“There is a lot of interest from investors as well in this,” said Prabhdeep Singh, CEO of Red.Health.